Champions

This is one of the greatest mornings I have experienced. I have two children, and as of 4:00 yesterday afternoon, both are team captains and contributing members of Indiana State Championship teams. My son’s swim team was the 2006 State champions and his medley relay also won. My daughter’s golf team, after finishing second for the past two years, is the 2008 State champions. In addition, she has been a contributing member of two state runner-up swimming teams as a diver.

While I am very excited, it also makes me reflect on the journey. It began with a decision to engage our children in physical activities. At the tender age of three or four, our decision was driven less from visions of grandeur then the desire to exhaust an endless supply of energy. Through the development phase, it was apparent that both of our kids were athletic and enjoyed competition. Nary was the activity that did not require their participation.

Over the years, we threw them into swimming pools; became devoted members of soccer, football and basketball teams and watched countless cross country, cheerleading, gymnastics and golf competitions.

Throughout the journey, there were several constants:

1. The coaches and mentors that cared about our children and took the time to teach them the intricacies of the sport and the importance of good sportsmanship, teamwork, pride and self confidence,


2. The long hours practicing when no one was watching,


3. The necessity for time prioritization and


4. The need for self sacrifice.

As kids compete, they tend to gravitate to those activities where they experience some success. Our son narrowed down his choices to basketball and swimming. The final selection came down to coaches. He was on the B basketball team for his Junior High and had a coach that would move A team players down to play in the B team games. Playing time was at a minimum and the coach was unwilling to discuss it. At the same time, he had a swim coach that was continually telling him he could be great if he would spend more time in the water. Even at this young age, he made the decision to go with the coach that truly cared about him as an athlete and a person. Swimming became his sport.

My daughter’s path was not as clear. At a very young age she selected gymnastics. She was fortunate to have great coaches and competed with a fantastic group of kids that have a special bond to this day. Unfortunately, her physique is not that of a gymnast. After having great success and a couple state championships in lower levels, she began to grow and experience several injuries. I was very surprised when she informed me that she wanted to quit gymnastics and take up golf. When I asked why, she informed me that she knew that I liked golf and it would allow us to spend more time together. My heart melted.

My wife and I have sat through disappointment, joy, attitude, anger, injuries, burn out and much more. We drove or flew countless miles, to go to lessons or competitions. But more importantly, we participated in our kid’s development through athletics and competition.

We were very fortunate that they went to a High School that valued athletics and held their athletes to a code of conduct. I am confident that this kept our kids out of trouble and focused. They were also very fortunate to participate with quality coaches and athletes. Both of my kids came to the realization in their sophomore years that their respective teams had the talent to win their state competitions in their senior year. This realization drove them to lead their teams with this goal in mind.

They both also knew themselves and the practice time they required. After my sons junior year, He informed me that he had no desire to compete in College, but his desire to win State still burned. In addition, he believed that swimming in the summer could possibly be detrimental to his performance in the high school season. He took the summer off and then attacked the high school season with a vengence. His coaches continually told me that nobody worked harder, that he led by example and infused an element of fun in an otherwise grueling sport.

My daughter on the other hand, knew that she needed to continually work on her golf swing. She went to countless competitions and spent hours at the driving range. Where swimming is a physically demanding sport, golf is a mentally challenging sport. Both are tough in different ways.

There is nothing better than the thrill of competing for your school in a state competition. Just to make the State meet is an honor. The thought of winning is a huge undertaking.

I will never forget my son’s senior year State Championship. The atmosphere was intoxicating. Unfortunately, I was very sick and had difficulty staying focused. Even so, I will never forget the excitement that followed the winning Medley Relay. As the first event of the meet, it set the tone for the remainder. I also will never forget the look that my son gave me when he finished sixth in the 100 backstroke and the excitement of knowing that his final swim was a best time that scored much needed points for his team. But the best feeling was the announcement that the goal he set as a sophomore had come to fruition.

The feeling was no less exciting yesterday. Going into the last day of State, my daughter's team was ten strokes out of the lead. At the end of the first nine, they had not cut into that lead. However, the back nine was a different story. The resolve of this team was not to be denied. In nine holes, they turned a ten stroke detriment into a ten stroke victory.

I am truly blessed. I am the proud parent of two State Champions, but more importantly, I am the proud parent of two great kids that have learned so many life lessons through competition. These are lessons I attempt to convey to others in my business dealings everyday. I am also blessed that so many fantastic people have taken interest in our children and been huge influences on how they conduct their day to day lives. Winning is not everything, but it sure feels good.

Power of the Master Mind

Pre-quote - The ladder of success is never crowded at the top

The Master Mind Group! The missing link to the entrepreneur! It is the unspoken dream of most people to be the boss, to control their own destiny, to not answer to anyone. That is until they take the plunge and begin on their own. Most then find the journey to be lonely and much more stressful and challenging than they ever thought it would be.

When I first read of the power of the master mind, I immediately understood the importance of the concept. I knew that I needed to establish a group of “experts” outside the Company that I could go to with issues.

As with many strong willed people, I had it half right and thought I had solved the mystery of business success. The part that I had missed was the most obvious. The master mind is not only external, it is also internal. Through out my childhood I had heard my dad make so many comments about his success being directly attributable to the people surrounding him. In his mind, this is what made him a good leader. How had I been so short sighted in my reading? I believe the answer lies in two places:

• My inability to control my ego (I have all the answers)

• My failure to turn on my creative imagination while reading this book.

Both these faults are very characteristic of entrepreneurs. To take the plunge into a business, they have to believe in themselves and their abilities. However, after starting the business, they get drawn into working in the business as opposed to working on the business.

I knew that some of my strengths were also my biggest negatives. My strong personality sometimes allows me to jump to conclusions and not see other acceptable options. In addition, it has the ability to negatively impact others and preclude them from offering a contrary opinion. This is a dangerous situation for any leader. The power of the master mind will not flourish in this environment.

The Definition of a master mind group is the coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people for the attainment of a definite purpose. It is interesting to see how a strong personality can take out the “spirit of harmony”.

The mastermind group has two very noticeable characteristics. They are:

• Economic advantages may be created by any person who surrounds themselves with the advice, council and personal cooperation of a group of men who are willing to lend him wholehearted aid in a spirit of perfect harmony.
• No two minds ever come together without, thereby creating a third, invisible, intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind.

These two characteristics are supported by one important fact:

We take on the nature and the habits and the power of thought of those with whom we associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony.

I understand how I missed the “secret” that the master mind group is also an important factor in building a staff. Just because we spend more time with this group then we do with our families does not mean that they can influence our thoughts, our actions and the overall direction of the organization. A strong minded leader can change the course of the other associates who work at “ground zero” can’t they? Yea right!

Once this fact permeated the years of profound wisdom, it was obvious to me that my management style and the organization needed to change. I needed to improve the quality of the staff and give them the authority and power to make decisions and give advise. Our decision making process needed the infusion of the power of the master mind.

“The master mind principle holds the secret of the power wielded by people who surround themselves with other individuals of intelligence. When a group of individual brains are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through the alliance becomes available to every individual brain in the group.”

While it is important to have allies outside the organization it is just as important to build an internal team of bright individuals that are willing to come together for the common good of the organization. This is when the group of individuals becomes a team and the power of their thoughts grows geometrically. The desires of the individual cannot circumvent those of the organization. It is virtually impossible for one individual to have the necessary knowledge in all disciplines to successfully manage an organization.

If their plans are comprehensive, and if they contemplate large proportions, they must induce others to cooperate with them, before they can inject the necessary element of power. This power is the organized and intellectually directed knowledge that comes from intelligent people working in harmony for a common cause.

Running an organization is a very difficult undertaking. It is not for everyone. However, the development of a strong external and internal mastermind group with a commonality of purpose dramatically increases the chances of success and dramatically decreases the chances of mistakes.

I will leave you with one of my favorite passages from this book, “There exists a great unseen stream of power, which may be compared to a river, except that one side flows in one direction, carrying all who get into that side of the stream onward and upward to wealth – and the other side flows in the opposite direction, carrying all who are unfortunate enough to get into it downward to misery and poverty.”

“This stream of life consists of ones thinking process. The positive emotions of thought carry one to fortune and the negative side carries one down to poverty.”

“Poverty and riches often change places. When riches take the place of poverty, the change is usually brought through well conceived and carefully executed plans. Poverty needs no plan. It needs no one to aid it, because it is bold and ruthless. Riches are shy and timid. They have to be attracted.”

The Mystery of sex transmutation

Prequote - More gold has been mined from the thoughts of man than has ever been taken from the earth

As may be ascertained from the title, this was a very “interesting” chapter and one that is often misunderstood. Mr. Hill was not a sex monger or an advocate of polygamy. He believed that the human mind responds to stimuli through which it can be keyed up to high rates of vibration known as creative imagination. It was his contention that the leading stimulus is the desire for sex expression. He also believed that most if not all successful people were/are highly sexual and influenced by a person of the opposite sex.

However, to understand this chapter, you need to focus on the word --transmutation. The definition provided is “the changing or transferring of one element or form of energy, into another”. Within this definition lies the key to the chapter. It is not the sexual urge that Mr. Hill is touting as the stimulus, it is the ability to reroute this urge into the creative process. This is why he believes most men do not produce their best work until latter in life. Most young men can not control their urges. In his words, “the lives of many men reflect the continued dissipation of energies, which could have been more profitably turned into better channels.”

While this conversation of sex transmutation is interesting, I found his conversation of the sixth sense – Creative imagination and its correlation to genius to be the pearl of this chapter. Mr. Hill’s definition of Genius is “a person who has discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to the point where he can freely communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought.” He contended that through natural or outside stimuli, the genus transmutes the power of the stimuli into this increased intensity of thought.

The ten stimuli identified that have the ability to increase creative imagination most freely were:

1. Desire for sex expression
2. Love
3. A burning desire for fame, power or money
4. Music
5. Friendship
6. Mastermind alliance
7. Mutual suffering
8. Auto-suggestion
9. Fear
10. Narcotics or alcohol

Eight of these stimuli are natural and constructive and two are destructive. Many examples were given of great works that were done under the influence of narcotics and alcohol. However, in almost every case, the genus was destroyed by these very stimuli.

The creative imagination is a power that the majority of people never use. It is the direct link between the finite mind and infinite intelligence. All discoveries of basic and new principles come from the realm of creative imagination.

Where do ideas come from? The new IBM commercial that shows people ideating keeps running through my mind. Mr. Hill believed that ideas come from four places:

1. Infinite intelligence
2. One’s subconscious mind wherein is stored all sense impression and thought impulse that ever reached the brain though the five senses
3. From the mind of someone else that has just released the thought, or picture of the idea or concept through conscious thought
4. From the other person’s subconscious storehouse.

To get to infinite intelligence, the mind is stimulated through one or more of the ten mind stimulants. This has the effect of lifting the individual far above the horizon of ordinary thought, and permits him to envision distance, scope, and quality of thoughts not available on the lower plane. While on this exalted plane of thought, the creative facility is given freedom of action. The way has been cleared for the sixth sense to function. It becomes receptive to ideas that could not reach the individual under any other circumstance.

As with any skill, the sixth sense becomes more receptive with use. Mr. Hill described the process used by one of the best inventors of our time. He had a room that was almost sound proof and arranged that all light could be shut out. Within this room was a table with a writing pad. The inventory called on his creative imagination by going into this room and concentrating upon the known factors of the invention. He remained in this position until ideas began to “flash” into his mind about the unknown factors of the invention. It sure sounds to me that he ideated.

This is the process of the creative mind. This method is available to all of us if we just know how to use it. In most instances that successful inventor will use some form of this process. They organize and combine known facts, ideas or principles accumulated through experience. If this knowledge is insufficient, they then draw on upon sources of knowledge available to him through their creative faculty. This is done by:

1. Stimulating the mind so it works on a higher plane
2. Concentrate on the known factors and create in your mind the perfect of the unknown factors. This picture is held in the mind until the subconscious mind takes over and the mind is cleared of all thought and the inventor waits for the answer to “flash” into his mind.

While this sounds very bizarre, we all know it works. Most of our best ideas come when we are relaxed and our mind is clear. Unfortunately, most the time we do not have the foresight to write these ideas down and they just fade away into oblivion until we see an invention similar to our idea.

Unfortunately, Ideation is becoming a thing of the past. Most of our inventions are objects that babysit our mind rather than spark creativity. It is incredible how much time is spent in front of TV, and video games. It is almost as if most people are afraid to spend time alone and challenge their brain to come up with solutions. They do not trust themselves to come up with solutions. The world or others owe them a good life an a solution to all of their difficulties.

As a business owner, this leads to working in the business as opposed to working on the business. In order to keep the business fresh, the owner must have the ability to get above the day to day issues and see the possibilities. Sometimes this involves reading. Sometimes this involves listening. Sometimes this involves discussions with trusted advisors. Sometimes it is just sitting and a room and thinking of all the possibilities. But regardless, it always involves getting out of the day to day issues and looking beyond the present. Ideation at certain levels can not and should not be replaced or undervalued.

Persistence

Prequote – No man achieves great success who is unwilling to make personal sacrifices

Mr. Hill identifies the four qualities necessary to develop persistence. They are:

1. Definiteness of purpose backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment
2. Definite plan expressed in continuous action
3. A mind closed tightly against all negative influences including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances
4. A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.

In looking at these four qualities, it makes me ponder what separates persistence from procrastination and how both can live and breathe in the same body. Why is it that certain actions get full attention and others “can always wait until tomorrow”? Could the answer be in the first quality of a “definiteness of purpose backed by a burning desire to fulfill it”?

We all have the tendency to gravitate to those activities we enjoy. Unfortunately, there often is not a correlation between what we enjoy what is necessary for success. Procrastination lives in all of us and continually calls for us to rationalize why immediate action is unnecessary.

In looking at this first quality, I wondered about the term “definiteness of purpose”. What is a definiteness of purpose and how does one go about getting one? Why is it that some people seem to know exactly what their “mission” is and others just let life control them? I am not a psychologist so I can not give academic answers to these questions. However, as a student of people, I can say unequivocally that a definiteness of purpose must come from within. Without internal conviction, there is little chance of igniting the burning desire and keeping it alive.

In order to find a definiteness of purpose it is important to keep an active mind and be aware of your passions and skills. Often, this definiteness of purpose is found where we least expect it. It often comes out of tragic events. It is all in our perspective and how we perceive these events. The important point is that definiteness of purpose will never come to those that do not continue the quest of finding that which sparks their passion.

Passion is the fuel that ignites the burning desire. However, once this desire is ignited, it is the definite plan that keeps the desire burning. I know of very few plans that do not require sacrifice, will not run into setbacks and do not need to be revised. All of these factors are contributory to procrastination. As they say; when the going gets tough, the weak can always finish the job tomorrow.

Procrastination is the very reason why the definiteness of purpose must be personal and why passion is required to light the burning desire. Nothing worth while comes for free and without sacrifice. By definition, a sacrifice is the surrender of something valued for the sake of something perceived as having a higher or more pressing claim.

Without a personal definiteness of purpose which is supported by a specific plan and fueled by passion, procrastination will seep into our lives and potentially destroy our ambitions. This trifecta is the secret of persistence. It is the driving force to success and the antidote for procrastination.

Mr. Hill mentioned the impact of negative influences and specifically the suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances. He stated that we should guard against those things that run contrary to our passions. This is why it is important to keep an active mind and be aware of your passions and surroundings. Who knows how many great ideas have been delivered stillborn because of the negativity and lack of imagination of these “confidants” who have never taken a risk in their lives.

I remember my own father, who I loved dearly, telling me that I should go into accounting because numbers always needed counting whether they were red or black. Wow that sure was a reason to pick a career. Unfortunately, my insight into my own passion was not developed and I took his advice. While I made a good living with my accounting education and it will always serve me well, it is not my passion.

You do not have to look any farther then any youth sports venue to find misdirected relatives and or coaches. What usually starts out as a love of a game turns into a child trying to please others. This almost always turns out bad. If the individual does not have the personal passion and desire to succeed, they will not be willing to make the necessary sacrifices. Their efforts are misdirected. The next step is usually the parent or coach forcing the individual to make the sacrifices. This turns into resentment and a dislike of the game they used to love. However, the biggest loss is the individual’s inability to focus on finding their true passion. While I have used sports in this analysis, it is prevalent in the arts, selection of career and any other area where people look for their passions.

While it is difficult to stand up to those we respect and believe they “have our best interest at heart”, an important component of finding your passion is to keep it your passion. However, once you have found your passion, it is just as important to find a support group or “mastermind group”. The roll of this group is to twofold. It is to be supportive and provide needed information and advice. In this roll the group will hold us accountable to our plan and provide suggestions on revisions. They will also demand we stay on task and be persistent in our endeavors. They act as a force field against procrastination.

The second role of these trusted advisor's is to be candid. Many times our passion overwhelms common sense. This is where a confidant with nothing to gain personally can provide valuable insight. They have the ability to see what our passion has blinded from us. The truth only comes to those that seek it.

Those who are persistent in reaching their goals defeat procrastination through the implementation of these four qualities rolled up in a blanket of passion. Without passion, we will end up on our couch watching those that have found the right venue for their passion to succeed.

Decision – The mastery of procrastination

Prequote - Conceit is a fog that envelops a man’s real character beyond his own recognition. It weakens his native ability and strengthens all his inconsistencies.

According to Mr. Hill, “lack of decision is near the head of the list of major causes of failure." "Procrastination, the opposite of decision, is a common enemy that practically every man must conquer.” “A study of successful people found that every one of them had the habit of reaching decisions quickly and of changing these decisions slowly.”

Many will take this to mean that these decisions were made without the proper amount of fact finding. This is not the case. Through the powers of organized planning and the mastermind group appropriate facts are accumulated. However, there is a point of diminishing return. The true leader will, at this point, step up, make a decision and stick to that decision.

It is important for the decision maker to use their own faculties to reach the decision. Close friends and relatives often feel compelled to give their “opinions” with "your best interest in mind". As stated by Mr. Hill, “Many people carry inferiority complexes through life because some well meaning and ignorant person destroyed their confidence through opinions and/or ridicule.”

One of the keys to success is the ability to make independent decisions. This does not mean that you do not solicit the assistance of those with more knowledge. It means those that you trust who possess more knowledge, become part of your mastermind group.

A decision maker must be a good listener and have the ability to filter information. If you talk more than you listen, you not only deprive yourself of the opportunity to acquire useful knowledge, but you also disclose your plans and purposes to people who could use that knowledge against you. It is better to tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it.

Finally, Mr. Hill provided the insight that the value of a decision is gauged by the courage necessary to make it. As an example, he recounted the story of the courage required by the 56 men who signed their name to the Declaration of Independence.

We all have life changing moments where the decisions we make will determine the road we take. The complete path of our lives is based on the decisions/choices we do or do not make. Most of these life changing decisions are made based on the price we are willing to pay for success. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were willing to give up their lives for their decision. The ultimate sacrifice.

I found the most interesting point of the chapter was Mr. Hill’s impression that the lack of decision making can be traced back to youth and the failure of the education system to incorporate the habits of good decision making. He stated that the result of this is that 98 of every 100 people are in their current profession because they lacked a definiteness of decision to plan a definite position and the knowledge to choose an employer.”

While I concur that the inability to make decisions can be traced back to youth, I do not believe that the educational system should shoulder all of the blame. The family structure is also a large contributor to the problem.

Parents always want to “give their children more than they had.” However, I see time and time again where this philosophy has hindered the youth’s decision making ability and promoted procrastination.

Many parents do not demand that their kids earn that for which they receive and the parents acquiesce too easily to that which their children want. This has led to an entitlement mentality and allowed the youth to abdicate their responsibilities back to parents. I feel comfortable in making these comments because I have followed this path and strongly believe I have done an injustice to my children.

It is important that we learn early that we are the captains of our own lives and that the decisions we make will have a great impact on the direction of that life. If I could change one thing in how I raised my children, it would be to require them to take more control of their decisions and not allow them to abdicate that responsibility back to my wife and me.

I would change our role from doer to advisor. I am very proud of my children, but they have led a blessed life that has allowed them to make mistakes without paying the immediate consequences of those mistakes. Life has a way of catching up and making you pay for your sins. My concern is that the long term consequence of not paying the immediate pertinence could be very detrimental to their future.

Put succinctly, we have devalued the decision making process by eliminating the courage component. We learn not only from our mistakes, but also from the consequences of those mistakes. If we do not learn this when we are young, we will have a tough time avoiding procrastination and making important decisions later in life.

THE PROCESS

In order to make good decisions, it is important that the decision maker call on the powers faith, desire, autosuggestion, specialized knowledge, imagination, organized planning and the mastermind group. It is difficult to make a good decision without an understanding of the desired outcome. This requires the decision maker to spend some time determining what they value and the path they will take get there.

I have found that most people are lazy and would rather have someone else tell them what is best. They talk to anyone that will listen and solicit opinions. Opinions are the cheapest commodity on earth. People with just a smattering of knowledge routinely try to give the impression that they have much knowledge. By abdicating our decisions to these undeserving assistants, we leave ourselves open for failure.

Often, the most courageous decision is to tell family and friends that they do not know what is best.

Only through a thorough self evaluation can the decision maker determine their passion. Following a path laid out by others is a sure recipe for an unfulfillied life. Once your passion has been uncovered, it is easier to use your imagination to develop an organized plan to achieve your stated goals. It is than easy to incorporate the power of autosuggestion to build the desire and faith necessary to make ultimate failure a remote probability. In addition, this focus on your passion will lead you to like minded people that will become your mastermind group.

In most cases, there is no such thing as having all the facts. Those that are paralyzed by indecision and/or are easily influenced by their surroundings will have a difficult time reaching their objectives.

Organized planning

Prequote – “Tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it.”

Once an idea has been formulated, it cannot be activated without a definitive plan. Your achievement can be no greater than your plans are sound. According to Mr. Hill “no man is ever whipped until he quits – in his own mind and no one can succeed without temporary defeat. When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound.”

This chapter was very list driven. It starts out describing the process of building a Master Mind Group (MMG) and the importance of selecting the proper participants. It then concentrates on the qualities of a good leader and the major causes for leadership failure. It closes by reviewing why people fail to meet their potential, the importance of taking a self-inventory and a description of the components that should be included in this inventory.

Because of the nature of the content, I will hold my personal comments to a minimum and focus on the specific information Mr. Hill has so professionally articulated.

In the development of a plan, Mr. Hill believed that:

• To be of success, the paln must be faultless, and
• You must have the advantage of the experience, education native ability and imagination of other minds. No individual has all that is necessary to ensure the accumulation of that which you want without the cooperation of other people.

Therefore you must decide who to bring into your “Master Mind" Group (MMG). Mr. Hill believed that this was accomplished by:

1. Allying yourself with a group of as many people as may be needed for the creation and carrying out of your plan
2. Before forming the group, decide what advantages and benefits you may offer the individual members of your group in return for their cooperation. No one will work for inadequate compensation.
3. Arrange to meet with the members of your MMG at least twice a week until you have jointly perfected the necessary plan
4. Maintain harmony within the group. The Master Mind principle cannot obtain where perfect harmony does not prevail.
5. Once this group has been aligned, validation of the plan through constant testing and assessment are necessary. If the first plan does not work, replace it. Continue this process until you find a plan that does work.

Most fail because of a lack of persistence in creating new plans. No one can succeed with a plan that is not workable. Temporary defeat is not permanent failure. It just means the plan was not sound.

In developing the MMG, Mr Hill believed that you should only select those who do not take defeat seriously. As with any group, there will be those who decent and/or quit. It is at this point that the group needs a leader. You must decide if you are that leader or if you will abdicate the responsibility to one of the other members of the group. Most great leaders began as followers. They became great leaders because they were intelligent followers.

There are those that lead by consent and those that lead by force. Only those that lead by consent will have staying power and get the group to glean the power produced through cooperative synergy. The following are the attributes that Mr. Hill believed were important in a great leader:

1. unwavering courage based on knowledge of self and one’s occupation
2. Self-control – The man that can not control himself can never control others
3. Sense of Justice
4. Definite of Decision – without it, he shows he is not sure of himself
5. Definiteness of plans
6. Habit of doing more than is paid for – one of the penalties of leadership is the necessity of willingness to do more than is required of followers
7. Pleasing personality
8. Sympathy and understanding
9. Mastery of detail
10. Willingness to assume full responsibility
11. Cooperation – Leadership calls for power and power call for cooperation

In contrast, the following are the ten most common failures in leadership:

1. Inability to organize details
2. Unwillingness to render humble service – Willing to perform any service they would request of others.
3. Expectation of pay for what they know as opposed to what they do with what they know
4. Fear of competition from followers – More pay will be received from directing what others do than could ever be paid for ones own labor
5. Lack of imagination
6. Selfishness – A good leader gives praise to followers
7. Intemperance
8. Disloyalty
9. Emphasis on the “authority” of leadership – Leadership by force
10. Emphasis on title

This discussion of leadership took Mr. Hill to a introspective review of individuals and the determinants of success. He first reviewed the QQS system. This stands for:

Quality of service - attention to detail if the most efficient manner possible

Quantity of service – Rendering all the service that you are capable of at all times with the purpose of increasing the amount as greater skill is developed.

Spirit of service – This is the habit of agreeable, harmonious conduct which will induce cooperation from associates and fellow employees

The most important of the three is the Spirit of Service. A pleasing personality sometimes makes up for a deficiency in quality or quantity. Nothing however can be successfully substituted for pleasing conduct. The go-getter has been supplanted by the go-giver.

With all that has been conveyed so far, it is interesting that most people fail to attain that which they strive for. This is one of life’s biggest tragedy’s. Mr. Hill identified thirty one reasons for personal failure. However, the 31st was a catch-all for anything that was not included in the first thirty. They are:

1. Unfavorable heredity background – there is but little if anything that can be done for people who are born with a deficiency in brain power
2. Lack of a well defined purpose in life
3. Lack of ambition to aim above mediocrity
4. Insufficient education – Education consists not so much of knowledge, but of knowledge effectively and persistently applied
5. Lack of self discipline – Control all negative qualities
6. Ill health
7. Unfavorable environmental influences during childhood
8. Procrastination – Most of us go through life as failures cause we are waiting for the right time to act
9. Lack of persistence – Good starters not good finishers. Quit at first sign of failure
10. Negative personality – Will not induce cooperation
11. Lack of controlled sexual urge – sex energy is most powerful of all stimuli that move people to action. It must be controlled and converted into other channels
12. Uncontrolled desire for something for nothing
13. Lack of a well defined power of decision – Indecision and procrastination are twin brothers
14. One or more of the six basic fears
15. Wrong selection of a mate in marriage
16. Over caution – As bad as under caution. Those that take no chances must take what is left
17. Wrong selection of associates in business – We emulate those whom we associate most closely
18. Superstition and prejudice – Superstition is a form of fear and a sign of ignorance
19. Wrong selection of a vocation
20. Lack of concentration of effort
21. Habit of indiscriminate spending
22. Lack of enthusiasm
23. Intolerance – Usually means that one has stopped acquiring knowledge
24. Intemperance
25. Inability to cooperate with others
26. Possession of power that was not acquired through self effort
27. Intentional dishonesty
28. Egotism and vanity
29. Guessing instead of thinking
30. Lack of capital

All these years later, the quote at the end of this sdction in still relavent and in my mind, priceless insight. It should be read and understood by all. Mr. Hill stated, “You must know your strengths and weaknesses. It is one thing to want money – everyone wants more – but it is something else entirely to be worth more. Your financial requirements or wants have nothing to do with your worth. Your value is established entirely by your ability to render useful service or your capacity to induce others to render such service. “

To assist those that take this quote to heart, Mr. Hill provided a listing of 28 questions that can be used for an annual self analysis. Answering the questions is easy and will provide you with your perception of the truth. It becomes more difficult and exposing when coworkers and family are requested to validate your perceptions.

The 28 questions are:

1. Have I attained my goals for the year?
2. have I delivered service of the best possible quality?
3. Have I delivered in the greatest quantity possible?
4. Has the spirit of on conduct been harmonious and cooperative?
5. Have I permitted the habit of procrastination to decrease my productivity and if so, how much?
6. Have I improved my personality?
7. Have I been persistent in pursuing my plans?
8. Have I reached decisions promptly and definitely?
9. Have I permitted any one or more of the six fears to decrease my efficiency
10. Have I been over or under cautious?
11. Has my relationship with associates been pleasant? If not, has the fault been mine?
12. Have I dissipated any of my effort through a lack of concentrated effort?
13. Have I been open minded?
14. In what way have I improved my rendering of service?
15. Have I been intemperate with my habits?
16. Have I expressed any form of egotism?
17. Has my conduct toward associates been such as to induce them to respect me?
18. have my opinions and decisions been based on guesswork?
19. Have I followed the habit of budgeting my time?
20. How much time have I devoted to unprofitable effort?
21. How may I re-budget my time and change my habits to be more efficient?
22. Have I been guilty of any conduct that was not approved by my conscience?
23. In what ways have I rendered more service and better service then I was paid?
24. Have I been unfair to anyone?
25. If I had been the purchaser of my services, would I have been satisfied?
26. Am I in the right vocation?
27. Has the purchaser of my services been satisfied?
28. What is my present rating on the fundamental principles of success?

There is but one method of accumulating and legally holding riches and that is by rendering useful services. No system has ever been created by which men can legally acquire riches through mere force of numbers, or without giving in return an equivalent value of one form or another. The system does not and cannot promise something for nothing because the system, itself, is irrevocably controlled by the law of economics, which neither recognizes nor tolerates for long, getting without giving.

Imagination

Prequote – Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing

According to Mr. Hill, imagination is literally the workshop wherein are fashioned all plans created by man.

I again go back to the difference between being “in the groove” and being in “a rut”. Is it possible that the missing magic ingredient is imagination? Why is it acceptable to stop the creation process? Further, is it allowable to be creative in one portion of our lives and not in others?

I have observed, and I do not believe many would disagree, that children are blessed with incredible imaginations. I will never forget when my daughter at the age of ten informed me of the ride she had experienced in the corvette of one of my friends. Her story was so vivid. I could almost see the breeze blowing in her hair and the smile on her face. She described the route they had experienced and the awesome feeling of speed. I was so happy for her. There was only one problem. The wonderful ride had never happened. It was pure unencumbered imagination. Some would call this an unadulterated lie. I called it incredible. It also made me wonder why my imagination was in park. I could not remember the last time I had allowed myself the opportunity to use my creative talents.

Throughout life we are peppered with facts and figures and the “correct answer”. Please think of all the things we would not have in our lives if creative types had stayed “within the lines”.

An education and a career should ignite the creative juices. I would contend that in most cases it does just the opposite. We are taught how to conform and provide our prospective employers what they are looking for. Maybe, just maybe, these employers do not know what they are really looking for. Maybe, just maybe, it is up to the young and ambitious that have not had their creative juices thwarted by years of “that is not the way we do it” to teach us where we should be spending our money and energy.

While this is an interesting thought, why does it rarely happen? I believe it is because these young and energetic future leaders have not, for the most part, been allowed to exercise their influence or they have chosen not to.

Take the job selection process. The process has not changed much from the days when I graduated. Resumes are written that basically say “Please give me the chance to start at the bottom of your organization.” Visits to the placement office to see which Company’s will visit. This is the universe. If Companies do not visit, they do not exist. Signing up for those that look good and some cursory research. Finally, praying that someone will find us worthy of employment. This is not always the case, but for the most part it is the rule.

Mr. Hill did not believe this was the proper method of determining our future. He believed that it was important to study companies and determine the one that you believe is the best fit. Once this was determined, perform detailed analysis to ascertain exactly the value you would bring to that company. This analysis would then be transcribed into a definite, detailed plan on how it would be implemented. It was than sent to the decision maker and followed up. If there was more than one company, a different plan was sent to each company.

Again, it is important to understand that this book is over 80 years old. Maybe now it is not as easy to get to the decision maker. This brings us back to imagination. If we go about looking for our first substantial employment in a generic mundane manner, what message does that send? We still must find a way to stand out from the crowd. What can the prospective employee do? Internships, networking, early identification and research on their target – would any of these things work?

Most companies get more applications for employment than they could ever give justice. This means that most applications get a cursory review and are passed over. Applicants have a snapshot to get attention. If the best we can do is use thicker or different color paper, our efforts are woefully lacking. Imagination brings differentiation.

Mr. Hill states “Mans only limitation lies in his development and use of imagination”

It has taken me too much time to realize that the structure of most companies and educational institutions are not conducive to the development of imagination. We lay out exactly what is expected and dissuade active participation. More often then not we want to prove we are right rather that ask the questions “What do you think” or “How did you come to that conclusion.

If given the chance, most individuals will take the easy road rather than the road that requires the magic of imagination. There is rarely a day that goes by that I do not have someone state “I do not know how to do this” or “we have a problem.” It is easier to upward delegate the problem than it is to kick start the imagination and come up with a proposed solution.

The pre-quote from the chapter on specialized knowledge stated that “every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. By precluding the use of imagination, companies and educational institutions are robbing our next leaders of this greater benefit. We are not allowing them to learn from their mistakes and demanding the development of their imagination.

However, the blame is not all with Companies and the education system. It is my opinion that the joys of reading and writing are in danger of becoming lost talents. The use of video games, computers, cell phones and television as babysitters has created a generation that does not see the value of reading and writing. Granted, for some, these "distractions" have sparked the creative jucies, but most are inactive participants in the passing of time. There is little if any educational value transmuted.

The creative faculty becomes more alert in proportion to its development through use. The converse of this fact is that nonuse of this faculty leads to cynicism of ones ability to change ones position in life and resignation. One day becomes just like another and all that is wrong is happening to us by forces outside of our control.

All good things start with an idea which is an impulse of thought. Mix in a definiteness of purpose that trasmutes in to a passion and all things are possible.